Written by the team behind Puzzlify. Puzzlify is our product, so weigh what follows with that in mind. We've tried to make this useful even if you never use it. We're not affiliated with any church, denomination, charity, school, retailer or community organisation.
At most church Christmas fairs, one table always has a queue: the tombola. It's a wall of bottles, tins, bath sets and chocolate boxes, each with a raffle ticket taped on. Next to it is a bucket of folded tickets, and you win if the number you pull ends in a 0 or a 5. It looks cheerful and easy on the day. Behind it is weeks of quiet work by a few people, and this short note is about saying thank you to them.
What goes into one table
Before the doors open on fair day, the tombola team has usually:
- put the appeal in the notices and the newsletter, then asked again a fortnight later
- collected donations after services, from doorsteps and from the back of people's cars
- checked dates on food and drink, and quietly set aside anything past it
- stored boxes of prizes in a spare room, a garage or the vestry cupboard
- numbered and taped a ticket onto every prize, then folded the matching tickets plus hundreds of blanks
- worked out the price per ticket and the odds so that it raises money but still feels fair
- set the table out so the best prizes are visible and the small ones fill the gaps
- kept the bucket stirred, the float safe and the children away from the bottles
- packed away the leftovers and found them a home (next year's fair, the food bank or the bring-and-buy)
Saying it simply
Tombola volunteers tend to go home tired and a bit sticky from tape, then hear the total in the notices the following Sunday. A thank-you that names the actual work, like the folding, the storing and the chasing, means more than a general "thanks to all our helpers". If the fair raised money for a cause, telling them what it paid for is a thank-you in itself.
Photos that work well
If you'd like to turn a photo into a small gift, these usually work better than a close-up of a person:
- the finished tombola table, crammed with prizes before the doors open
- the bucket of folded tickets, or a hand reaching in
- a row of bottles, each with its pink or yellow ticket
- boxes of donations stacked in the vestry or a hallway
- the empty table at the end, with the cash tin and the final count
If you'd like to include volunteers or visitors, ask them first, and for anyone under 18 ask a parent too. A crowd at the fair often includes people who'd rather not be in a photo that's shared.
How many pieces
| Pieces | Suits |
|---|---|
| 24 | a quick puzzle on a phone |
| 48 | a gentle solve with a cup of tea |
| 80 | a volunteer who likes a challenge |
| 130 | a crowded, colourful prize table |
| 252 | a long, absorbing puzzle on a tablet |
A packed tombola table has lots of colour and detail, which makes 80 or 130 pieces fun. A close-up of the ticket bucket is simpler, so 24 or 48 fits better.
A few lines you could write
- "Thank you for every ticket you folded. We know it was hundreds."
- "The tombola sold out by two o'clock again. That's all down to you."
- "Thank you for storing half the fair in your garage for a month."
- "Thank you for making a bucket of tickets the best part of the day."
About cost
The preview is free, so you can see the puzzle before deciding. Publishing the link costs one credit (€3.99), or a little less per puzzle in a bundle. It's a digital jigsaw, not a printed one, so it won't end up as next year's tombola prize. The person you send it to opens the link on any phone, tablet or computer with no account and no app, and your note appears when the last piece goes in. For a team, one puzzle shared with everyone can work well.
Other ways to thank them
- a card signed by the vicar, the churchwardens and the fair committee
- a line in the parish magazine with the amount the tombola raised
- offering to collect or fold tickets next year
- first pick of the leftover prizes, or a small treat of their own
- a cup of tea brought to the table on fair day so they don't have to leave it
- simply telling them what the money paid for
Where Puzzlify fits
Puzzlify turns a personal photo into a private digital jigsaw that you send as a link. Only the people you share it with can open it. It's one option among many and not a replacement for a card or a word in person. It isn't related to puzzlify.io, Puzzlit, Puzzly or Puzzify. If a photo puzzle feels right, pick the full prize table, the ticket bucket or the stack of donations, choose a piece count, and write your note. You can make one here.
Written by the small team behind Puzzlify (info@puzzlify.app). Not legal, religious, charity, gambling or lottery law, food safety, safeguarding, privacy, photography permission or gift policy advice.